


I wouldn't pick you

by 09ofhearts (orphan_account)



Category: Free!
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-08
Updated: 2014-02-08
Packaged: 2018-01-11 14:17:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1174077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/09ofhearts
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rin is asked who out of the four Iwatobi guys he would choose to go out with.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I wouldn't pick you

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on tumblr.
> 
> [ See tracks 03 and 04 of the first drama CD.](http://digitalscratch.pmsinfirm.org/?p=6473)

“Rin-chan, aren’t you going to eat too?”

“Hm?” Rin’s eyes flickered to Nagisa before returning to his can of *Pocket Sweat. “No,” he replied, lifting the metal tab.

“But aren’t you hungry? I always get hungry after swimming.”

“I’m not. And I didn’t bring anything anyways.”

“Have a bite of my bread then!”

“H-Hey! Get that away fro-” Nagisa shoved the bread into Rin’s mouth.

“Nagisa!” Makoto scolded, patting Rin, who was coughing, on the back. “Haven’t you learned not to do that?”

“Sorry, Rin-chan! Mako-chan! I thought only Haru-chan didn’t like my “rock” and “hopping” bread.”

“Nagisa-kun,” Rei began. “I doubt any of us would want to eat that. And you shouldn’t either. It’s nutritionally unbalanced.”

“But it’s so yummy!”

“It’s too sweet!” Rin shouted, having recovered. “Stop smirking, Haru!” he directed towards their dark-haired friend. Haru ignored him.

Rin glared at him and then returned his glare to Nagisa. “Didn’t you hear me say I wasn’t hungry?”

“But Rin-chan, you have to eat to get energy! Especially when you’re an athlete!”

Rin opened his mouth to say how Nagisa, the boy eating what was basically a lump of sugar, was the last person to tell him how an athlete should eat, but Makoto put a hand on his shoulder.

“You can have some of my lunch,” he said pleasantly.

“For the last time, I’m not hungry. T-Thanks though.” Rin turned his face away, only to be met with a piece of mackerel.

“Nagisa’s right,” said Haru. “Say aah.”

A little of Rin’s drink spilled onto his thigh in his haste to get away from Haru’s chopsticks.

“Mackerel freak!” he shouted amidst Nagisa’s laughter and Makoto’s groans as he rubbed the shoulder Rin had just slammed into.

“Rin-san, do you know how to cook?” Rei asked after everyone had calmed down.

“Huh? Of course I do. I wouldn’t have been able to live alone as much as I have if I didn’t. Why?”

“The er incident earlier reminded me of a conversation the rest of us once had.”

“Oh! Oh! I remember!” Nagisa piped in. “The one about how a man who cooks is popular. And then it became about who in the group we’d go out with if we were girls.”

“Hey, I had a conversation like that too. With the captain and Nitori.”

“What a coincidence! C’mon Rin-chan, spill! Who’d you pick?”

“Neither. They’re both idiots.”

“Aw! You’re no fun.”

“Shut up. Who’d you all pick?”

“I-” Nagisa’s eyes widened. “I actually never got around to deciding.”

“I couldn’t decide,” Makoto said with a chuckle.

“I picked myself.”

“Pfft. Rei, you dork.” While the bespectacled boy spluttered, Rin turned to Haru and grinned. “Who’d you pick, Haru?”

Haru rolled his eyes.

“Haru-chan picked Mako-chan.”

“I figured.”

“But then he switched to me.”

“What?” Rin turned to Nagisa in surprise. “Why would he pick you?”

“That hurt, Rin-chan,” Nagisa said with a pout. “Because I’m adorable, of course!”

“Nagisa-kun said he’d cook him mackerel for breakfast every morning,” Rei added.

“Ah.”

“Rei-chan!”

“I still can’t believe I lost to mackerel…” Makoto sighed.

“You really are a mackerel freak,” Rin said, putting an arm over Haru’s shoulder.

“Even if you offered to cook me mackerel, I wouldn’t pick you,” Haru replied. Rin tensed. 

“S-So mean! When did I say that I’d pick  _you_?”

Haru glanced away.

“I’m great at making mackerel, by the way. Although I like meat a hell of a lot better. And I’d take my date swimming everyday.”

“I still won’t pick you.”

“I didn’t say I picked you! And why wouldn’t you pick me, anyways?” The last part came out higher than Rin would have liked.

“Because…” Haru began, not looking at him. “We’d probably fight all of the time… It would take too much effort.”

Rin removed his arm from his shoulder.

“How do you know that…if you haven’t even given it a try?” In his peripheral vision, Rin saw Haru glance back, but he kept his eyes on his drink.

“If we were to get together…I’d fight to make it work. I’d even eat mackerel every day if I had to-if I  _really_ had to-because…if you l-love someone and they make you happy, you should try your hardest to return the favour. That’s the kind of fighting that I’d want to do.”

Rin finally glanced at Haru.

His blue eyes were wide. Rin began to realize what he had just said.

“H-Hypothetically speaking!” he exclaimed, face red.

“Rin-chan,” Nagisa said after what seemed like a while. “Who would  _you_ pick?”

“Oh, uh…” Rin looked at each of them in turn (except for Haru; he could  _not_  look at him right then). “Makoto,” he finally said.

“Me?” Makoto cried.

“You’re the nicest,” Rin said, looking pointedly at Haru. He was surprised to see him still staring at him wide-eyed.

“And if I were to say I’d cook meat for you every morning?” Nagisa asked.

“Then I’d pick Nagisa too,” Rin chuckled.

“I win!” the younger boy cheered.

“Nagisa-kun, this wasn’t a contest!”

While the others gathered the remains of their lunches and headed back to the locker room, Rin stayed behind to tilt his head back and finally finish his drink.

“Rin.”

He turned to the source of the voice, seeing that Haru had stayed back.

“What is it?” Rin asked, wiping his mouth.

“I’m willing to try,” Haru said.

“Try what?”

“Dating…you.”

Rin froze. “E-Even though it’d take effort?”

“Yeah.”

“O-Okay.”

Haru nodded and began to walk off.

Rin hung back.

“Haru,” he called. “You meant that…hypothetically, right?”

Haru did not turn around. But Rin saw his ears turn red.

His can clattered to the floor.

_“Did he just ask me out?”_

_The end_

**Author's Note:**

> *The Free! version of Pocari Sweat from episode seven.
> 
> Thanks for reading :)


End file.
